Process for oxidizing atmospheric nitrogen by electricity.



. v D. HELBIG. PROCESS FOR OXIDIZING ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN BY ELECTRICITY.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.7,1908.

Gm O 9 1 9 2 6 m u d 9 Law E G 2 m 0 0 m H w M 6 y ATTOENEK?" bons and at rig nann'rnio HELBI OF ROME, ITALY. 4

No. seems.

To all whom it may cera:

Be it known that I, Dunne. o HELBIG, a subject of the King of Italy, residing at Rome, Ita y, professor of chemistry, have invented a cert in new and useful Improved Process for Oxn icing Atmospheric Nitrogen by} Electricity, of which the following is, a specification.

i This invention consists in employing an electrichigh pressure flame are blown in a special nianner by means of air for the purpose of oxidizing atmospheric nitrogen.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, igure l is a di grammatic view illustrating one modification oi the invention. Fig. 2' is a section taken through the axes of the cari angles to the axes of the nozzles of one form of apparatus for carrying the inventioninto effect. Fig. 3 is a section of the same app this on the line A B Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a die. mmatic view illustrating another niodiiica on or" the invention. Fig. 5 is a View similar o l, with the air nozzles arranged at Ierent angles to the electrodes iroin shown in said figure and showing t e shrn-r of the are.

Let E E (l g. 1) be electrodes of some suitable material, such water-cooled electrodes for strong currents. soonas a current is suppiied from a suitable source, for instance an alternating current "on a l. l a

01110 are .t'orce and c distance. apart, weihlinown manner of an arc perma the. points of the. :iently strong' .iist the said concentric orator, of suth elc elect ode" a there takes t a discharge in nently burning electrodes. current air is iii ed into r spread out along t" e ole a piano nors'nal to thr ihese iiaipes or shed oearancc and their hen n1.

spark-like,dis hu. space betwt e ed out along the current of air.

Owing .to t

high perature of the in discharge." and the great speed with w .he air passes through the same, the nitrogen contained in the said air current enters in ample manner into combination with en m xed with it.

For practic ll iilg out this process the apparatus ably used is illustrated Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 7,

Patented June 29, 1909.

1908. f Serial No. 409,664

in Figs. 2 and 3, in which Fig. 3 is a section on line A-B of Fig. 2. Electrodes EIE passing through insulating sleeves and pro videdwitha water-cooling device, project into an iron furnace O, the walls of. which are lined inside with fire-proof bricks Be tween the electrodes and the. fire-proof lining there is left a narrow space up to which projcct nozzles D secured in the lateral walls of the furnace. their openings lie exactly opposite the space between the electrodes where the are forms.

Their position is such that The air is supplied to the nozzles at a pressure of several atmospheres, it escapes from the-same and modifies in the hereinbeforementioned manner the are between the electrodes into two sheaves of flames developing upward and downward and then escapes from the openings Z carrying with it oxide of nitroge.

If a single-phase alternating current is used, the flame burning in such conditions behaves like a series of explosions which have the same periodicity as thenumber of phases. The discharge takes place with loud sound, which is an indication of the sudden- This disadvantage can be obviated current, instead of by means of a single-phase current between two electrodes the air current being projected against the are by means of opposite concentric nozzles D D as before.

tags..

The quantity of efiective every moment, remains practically constant, the flame, however, continually wanders in ac'ircle from one pair of points to the next, and is already operative between one pair While the flame between the receding pair is not yet extinguished. 'l. ere is, therefore, never-a dead point such as is to be expected eyery time the pressure bf a single phase current becomes equal to zero. in

energy which becomes This results in the following "advanthat way the etIiciency is considerably increased. I

Having now l'ullydescribed my said invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States, Ls:

[1. A, process for oxidizing atmospheric nitrogen by electricity in which compressed air is (projected by two opposite nozzles arrange tween suitable electrodes, whereby two sheaves of flame are produced which spread in line, against an arc produced beout along theelectrodes in a plane normal to ifliejdirection of thenozzles. v

\ $2; A process for oxidizing atmospheric nisee r13 .trogen by*eleetricity in which compressed in a plane at a right angle to the axis of the nozzle.

In testimony whereof I have allixed my signature in presence 01 two witnesses.

DEM ETR 1O 'lllfil ,BlG.

Witnesses:

A. ROG'G, DUILIo NA'RDONI. 

